The Doors – ‘L.A. Woman’ (1971)

The Doors’ sixth studio effort was the final album to feature lead singer Jim Morrison before he passed away at the age of 27. It is definitely a worthy swansong record.

The sound on this album continued that of predecessor Morrison Hotel, with a mixture of both soft and hard blues rock tracks. Tracks such as “Been Down So Long” and “L’America” are dominant in terms of sound presence whereas “Hyacinth House” is rather tame in comparison.

The highlight for me is closing track “Riders on the Storm”. Guitarist Robby Krieger provides a hypnotic bass line, which paired with the sound of rain and crashing thunder creates some great imagery. Ray Manzarek adds some brilliant keyboard licks that complement the bass however can be a stark contrast too.